Trust
by Tandy Sandman
Summary: Modern AU. One was a sensual being working as a host in a host club. The other was a closed off genius working as a detective. Their paths crossed, producing unexpected results. Warning: drug abuse and slight swearing. Vague Sasuke bashing. Possible sequel depending on reviews!
1. Introduction

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi sensei. It they were mine, I would create gay couples and sell it as a Shoujo manga…

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**Introduction**

Nara Shikamaru

During high school, he fell head over heels over an older bosomed blonde, who was a transfer student. She was smart, ambitious and strong. She had a soft heart for her two brothers. In the end, she had to go back to her hometown, after her parent's settlement. She broke off the relationship, saying that long distance just doesn't work. He knew, deep inside, she saw him as a lazy, good-for-nothing boy. The next thing he did weren't chasing after her or working harder to become a better man. The next thing he did was to make a promise, never to date or fall in love with a woman. They are too troublesome.

He met the handsome, raven haired man when he was drifting in and out of classes in university. The riveting beauty did not pay much attention to the pony-tailed genius until a paintball session organized by a overly enthusiastic blue-eyed blonde. He was teamed with Choji, his childhood mate and a loud blonde girl with a haughty attitude. He managed the team with expertise and won the said 'war' without getting a single paintball on himself and his team. Whist the raven haired man, with his pink haired female medical student and blonde haired roommate was plastered with orange paintball. They dated. He thought he was in love. Until he detected that the solutions that he provided for the raven haired man, somehow lead to the downfall of one Uchiha Itachi. The raven haired man had then turned to the pony-tailed genius and broke-up their relationship, claiming that they just didn't fit. Deep inside, he knew that he was used as a tool for revenge. The next thing he did weren't finding out a way to avenge his broken heart by stealing the blue eyed blonde whom the raven haired man were pitching for. The next thing he did was swearing never to fall in love. Love is too troublesome.

That was until he met the graceful, pale eyed brunet with a fierily disposition. His outwardly chilling attitude, coupled with porcelain skin and a sharp calculating mind, was an unexpected interlude in his life. His life changed, perhaps for the better.

.~.~.~

Hyuuga Neji

He was born into a rich, well to do family. It was a traditional family, with a head of the family, and a branch. He grew up in a well educated and civilized environment. Due to the general attitude of the family, he was trained to be indifferent. A sudden upraise lead by a distant family member of the Hyuuga lead to a total uproot of his steady life. Even though they were innocent, his family was kicked out. His cousin, a shy short haired girl with a kindly soul tried to help him. But his hatred for the main family clouded his judgment and broke off anything resembling a relationship with her.

His family moved from one place to another. His father tried to find work where ever he could, often as a labourer. His mother, who had always been sickly, picked up care-taking and housekeeping jobs. He himself quit school and worked where ever allowed an underage male to work. Slowly, his mother worked herself to death. His father, broken as he was, still swore to uphold the Hyuuga family motto and swore never to avenge. Being drilled with this philosophy, he suppressed all his emotions, remaining cold, but with a burning urge of hatred towards the head of Hyuuga. Slowly, his father faded under years of depression and passed away due to a stroke. His fragile soul snapped. He broke into the main house and attempted an assassination. He was unsuccessful and spent the rest of his teen-years and early twenties in rehabilitation, or in other words, juvenile jail. He came out a broken man. Learning from his jail mates, he stooped down to the seedy life of a host. He lived a life of accompanying rich older women or lonely gay men, with the help of alcohol. He shut off his emotions in order to survive.

That was until he met the witting, honey-brown eyed brunet with an honourable disposition. His outwardly lazy attitude, coupled with lightly tanned skin and an Intelligence Quotient of 200, was an unexpected interlude in his life. His life changed, perhaps for the better, too.

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A/N:

Firstly, I don't know why I always do this.

Secondly, English is not my first language

Thirdly, my writing style may cause confusion, thus please tell me if it is.

Fourthly, this work is inspired two works. One is Kindred, by Prism0467, a have to read fanfiction for NejiShikamaru paring. This is the link, www. fanfiction 。。。。dot net /s /4471635 /1 /Kindred (just backspace the space and dot the dot)

The other is Iyoku (Desire) by DrivvenWrinth. Beware of the explicit warning. Here is the link archiveofourown dot org /works /527704 /chapters /934503

Fifthly,** if I get enough reviews and favourite**, I may consider writing a sequel, focusing on Nara Shikamaru… So, PLEASE R&R!


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi sensei. If they were mine, I would make a spin-off based on Shikamaru.

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**Chapter 1**

"Why exactly are we here?" the man drawled as he was partially dragged by the other man. "Oh, come on Nara. You need a break!" the energetic man exclaimed whist struggling with the lazy man. The passive man gave a loud sigh and trudge along, just so that they would stop putting up a show in the front of the bar/club. The shop front blinked 'Konoha' with its neon lights, seemingly winking at their customer. Outwardly, it seemed like any normal bar with loud modern music that attracts young people. However, bar-hoppers and regular customers knew that it was no ordinary bar, but a host club.

A pretty successful one too, supplying both male and female hosts. Konoha was owned by a big-breasted blond who runs a tight ship. No drugs, no groping and no sex. Any disorderly or violent behaviour were met with an equally or even more violent kick out of the door. Re-offenders will find themselves blocked from entering the place. Anyone who tries to cause havoc outside the host club after being bared, will find themselves in deep shit. Even local yakuza treated the place with a certain level of respect.

Entering the place, the lazy genius frowned at the overtly loud giggling of a couple of women passing by and the stench of alcohol. The music was loud, but not so loud that people had to shout at the person sitting next to them. It only encourages people to get closer to each other in order to communicate. Eyeing the place, he saw clinging bodies of young female on fit young male, snuggling bodies of older women with their younger male or female companion. Hand on lap, ear whispering action of male host with their equally male customer. Older business men with their arm full of young giggling females. He had to admit, the employees of the host club were of high standard. The male hosts were handsome and well mannered; the female hosts were beautiful and well trained.

Nara Shikamaru was suddenly pulled by, in his mind, the aggressor to an already seated table. Nodding to his co-worker and friend whist being pushed to sit on a seat, his old university friend couldn't help but express her observation. The blond shouted over the table and music "damn Shikamaru, you look like shit." The lazy genius claimed "gee Sherlock, great observation." The blond giggled away the sarcastic comment and twirled her cocktail drink "come on Shikamaru, you're the detective here, not me." The lazy genius just slumped further into his seat and scowled, whist crossing his arms in front of his chest. The man who dragged the poor man into the place just smiled awkwardly and patted the shoulder of the man he brought in. "Ino, Nara had a tough time these couple of weeks. I brought him here to help him relax and forget work, not reminded of it" explained the man as he took a seat.

Ino shrugged a shoulder and stuck out her tongue playfully. "Inuzuka, did you really think that by bringing that disappointing jerk here would really help?" asked Ino haughtily. The K9 division officer froze as Shikamaru slid further down into his chair. The scowl disappeared, and was replaced with a saddened frown. Yamanaka Ino who knew Nara Shikamaru since university, realised for the first time that night that their usual banter was taken to heart by the depressed man. Ino stood up from her seat and got in front of her best mate of 7 years. She stooped to look into the eyes of her friend and apologized "hey Shikamaru, don't take it to heart, I'm sorry." An emotion flashed through the downcast eyes before the edges of the man's lips slowly tipped up. Recognizing the fact that she was being played, she laid a slight punch on the genius's shoulder whist exclaiming "you wanker!"

The plump member of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio ambled slowly to their table, eyeing the interaction between his two mates. "Did I miss something?" he asked the man he sat next to. "Yamanaka was trying to cheer Nara up, but Nara played her" explained the man wearing tinted glasses in the lowered lighting club. Akimichi Choji eyed the man that replied him "Aburame? You're invited too?" The forensic scientist/entomologist shrugged his shoulder as he gestured to the person grinning at Shikamaru's improving mood "Inuzuka invited me." The plump restaurant owner just nodded and accepted the simple explanation.

Suddenly, an arm draped over the shoulder of the slumping genius caused the man to jump of surprise. He looked around and saw his co-worker Tenten, accompanied by the bowl cut, bushy eye browed Lee. The female co-worker gave the man a wicked grin as she sat down between Ino and Shikamaru. He suppressed his shiver whist Tenten leaned close and whispered "be prepared what I've got arranged for you." Ino gripped her only other female companion's arm and tugged in order to gain some gossip. On the other side of the table, Lee was vividly re-enacting a session with a karate student of his who happened to be either extremely brave, or dumb. Even Aburame Shino seemed genuinely attracted to the story. The genius lazily gazed around his table of friends.

He and Choji were childhood friends and they met Ino in university. The trio was introduced during a shared selective class named Social Studies 101. Choji was studying something business related. Before entering university, Choji had stated that he wanted to open and own his own restaurant. Seemingly sure of what he wanted, he thought that studying business would be a good start. Shikamaru had approved, saying that it was a wise decision.

Ino was adamant that she wanted to become a famous actress. However, the university she attended was not recommended for their art classes. At the start, she claimed that she wanted to switch universities so she could 'get a better start on her road to stardom'. However, she met the love of her life and decided to stay in order to get closer to him. When Shikamaru started going out with the said 'love of her life', their friendship grew rocky. When the end came for Shikamaru and him, Ino was the first one there to accompany her friend. During that time, she discovered her love for law and strived to become a prosecutor.

Shikamaru was stuck between having to inherit his father's pharmacy by studying pharmacology or his interest, criminology. After meeting the unnameable, he got into criminology, because that was what he was doing. After the breakup, he delved into his studies and truly discovered his talent. Before then, he just managed to get through his classes and passed unnoticed by his lecturers. After the breakup, his genius was discovered after he solved a cryptic letter in a cryptology class within 5 minutes. This discovery was reported up the hierarchy of the university and was invited to participate as a third party in an ongoing investigation by the police. He solved the case by recognising the pattern utilized by the perpetrator and was commended by the head of the squad responsible for the case. After 2 years in police academy, he spent barely a year as a rookie cop before he was promoted to detective. That was when he met Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino and Tenten, who in turn introduce him to her steady boyfriend of 4 years, Lee.

His run through the memory lane was interrupted by a sight which took his breath away. After the unnameable, Shikamaru found out that he was attracted to both sexes. Therefore when he caught sight of the beauty approaching them, he did not feel shame or disgust, but of awe. The man's long straight hair flowed under the darkened light like a sheet of the darkest silk. His skin was so fair that made him glow under the dimmed light. As he strutted closer, his skin was observed to be so smooth that would put any woman to shame. The most startling observation was the eyes. Under the light of the club, it seemed milky, swelling in a cloud of mystique. By this time, the host was one or two feet away from their table, and not only was he staring at the man. The two women and Inuzuka (who also happens to be bisexual) were gaping unabashedly.

The host graced the table with a light smile and asked in his mildly toned voice "may I ask who Nara Shikamaru is?" His politeness was unexpected in a place like this and everyone was shocked. The two who first broke out of the spell were the two straight men and pointed to the pony tailed brunet. The other three shook off the spell couple seconds later and pointed to the same man. The host gracefully glided to the man being pointed and stood in front of him. He bowed with the perfect 90 degrees bow and introduced himself "my name is Neji." He looked up with the perfected provocative glint in his eyes and said "I shall be your host tonight, Nara Shikamaru."

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A/N: Hope you guys like this so far. I wanted to describe Neji as an alluring beauty. Also, can you guess who the unnameable is? Basically he had a bad break-up in the past.** Keep reviewing and faving, I might just write up what happened**.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi sensei. If it were mine, I would make it into real person movie. Then Jamie Bell would play Shikamaru ('cus I love Jamie Bell) and Ben Barnes will play Neji ('cus he's pretty for a man, in my opinion).

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**Chapter 2**

Hyuuga Neji came into work tonight and was told that someone had requested him. He frowned slightly at the information. Not that he minded being the appointed host as that usually meant that he got to start work later. This was due to the fact that his customers usually didn't arrive as soon as the club opens. He carefully brushed through his long mane in preparation for the night, as he mentally ran through the list of his usual customers. Kidoumaru had been kicked out by Tsunade after brazenly groping Neji. Two of his regular female customer didn't usually come during weekdays. The only possibility was that he was selected due to his fame in the Konoha host club. Being the second top ranked host, after Tsunade herself, he often got requested despite not knowing the customer.

He double checked his clothing in front of the mirror whist offering a quick nod to one of his co-workers in the mirror. Wearing the typical long sleeved white shirt, he ensured that the top two buttons were opened, showcasing his pale skin and toned chest. The shirt's sleeves were buttoned with a set of plain silver cufflinks, glinting in the light, enhancing the delicate wrist and hand. The shirt was tucked into the low rising suit pants, offering a great view of the butt and trimmed waist. He gathered his hair and placed a simple tie at the edge of his flowing hair, thus keeping it from getting caught in the chaos of the club, whist allowing it to flow naturally. He picked up a small tube and sniffed in a line of white powder. He then quickly closed the case, along with the tube before Tsunade found out. Although the no drugs policy applied to everyone, Tsunade sometimes turned a blind eye regarding the policy for her employees, just as long as it didn't hinder their performance.

"Neji" a young voice shouted across the room. The second top host turned gracefully towards the voice. The bartender gave a slight nod and said "your customers are here." Neji gave a nod of understanding and waved indicating that he will be there in a few minutes. Giving himself another check, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Prepping himself to ready a character for this customer, he opened his eyes and breathed out. According to the brief description provided by the customer who called in requesting him, his target tonight was a detective. Apparently, he met a difficult case at work and had been spiralling down, both psychologically and physically. From experience, detectives usually were older then himself, especially those who require such service to take their mind off a difficult case.

Walking out of the dressing room, he mentally ran through the different detectives or law enforcement officers that he had met. Most maintained a haughty attitude towards him and treated him like an object. Some, usually female, appreciated his charm and good looks, thus treated him more like a person. Few, who were already drunk, and usually police officers, would start saying lurid things in hope to gain some reaction from the ice beauty. As a Hyuuga, these poor men or women's words washed over him and he still maintained his cool whist the customer were toppling over in their own chair. After being pointed to which table he was to serve by the bartender, he started his strut, which gained attention by several customers. Some wolf whistled. He thought gladly that the music was loud enough to drown it. Otherwise his well planned entrance would be ruined.

The surprising thing was that the table he was to serve did not contain anyone older than 25 or 26. His brain quickly deduced that Nara Shikamaru was a boy's name, thus eliminating the two female at the table. The cubby one did not seemed like someone who would work in any law enforcement agency. The one gesturing outrages gestures did not seem like to have the calm collectiveness of a detective. Thus leaving the three other male, the one with glasses was watching the gesturing male with vague interest, whist the other was encouraging the performer.

His line of thought was suddenly caught by the honey-browned eyes. The owner of those eyes was slumped down in his chair with an air of laziness. However, the eyes that were locked on him were sharp and bright. The way that his ponytail was pulled back made his eyes seemed like, the only way to describe it, foxy. He was slight, but well built. As Neji walked closer to the table, he grew aware of the addition of eyes on him emitted from the table.

Calmly asking for his target, he was slightly shock to find that the man who caught his eyes was his intended target. Brushing that surprise aside, he bowed and introduced himself. His well practiced provocative glint was said to make any mortal blush, and he was right, the man did blush slightly. Nara slowly turned his head to face the ponytailed brunet and asked in a lazy tone "so this is the surprise you got me?" The woman who was asked nodded vigorously. The target looked back at Neji and commented "he sure is pretty enough". Hearing the comment, Neji straightened and smiled slightly before answering "thank you for your kindly comment, Nara-san." With this response, Shikamaru mentally noted 'aversion to being treated as an object despite of profession'.

Waving off the response, Nara smiled "Nara-san made me sound so old. Just call me Nara, like how my work mates call me." He added "or you can just call me Shikamaru," whist waving to his table of friends "like how my friends call me." Raising an eyebrow at the request, Neji bowed politely and said "as you wish, Shikamaru-kun." Shikamaru raised his eyebrows at the suffix and smiled a proper smile that night. Seeing the interaction, Ino suddenly exclaimed "ah!" thus gaining attention from the whole table. She announced over the music, "Neji-san, apparently this table is full; so there won't be any seat for an extra person. Would it be possible for you to bring Shikamaru to somewhere else?"Ignoring Shikamaru's grumble she continued "also, with him around, I could never be able to have proper fun as he always carries his sarcasm around. You know that sarcasm is infectious right?" She said as she winked at the host.

Neji bowed politely and offered "if that is what Shikamaru-kun wants, I shall introduce him to a more comfortable location." Before the target had a chance to retort, the brunet woman stood up and started pulling at the still seated Shikamaru "come on Nara. One would not want to miss a chance with the second top host in Konoha." Even Inuzuka joined in "yah Nara. Go and chat" nudging the man, who was being manhandled into the arms of the waiting host. Shikamaru was no match against his insistent friends, thus standing up he grumbled "so troublesome."

Neji lightly grasp the elbow of his target of the night and started guiding the grumbling man away from his waving friends. In his mind, he already calculated a plan of attack on the passive man. From his interaction from his friends, the man was laid back and quiet. Most of his quiet customers were female, but after one or two drink, they loosen up. From the "he sure if beautiful" comment from before, he knew that he was seen as a tool of escape. Judging from the bags under the tired eyes, the man had spent couple of sleepless nights pondering over a case. Being so young, he was probably solving it with a lazy or inattentive senior partner. Finding an empty couch, he gently guided his companion to sit whist gesturing for a waiter.

The waiter bowed and asked for any order of drinks. Neji asked for small bottle of sake. He looked at the other man, wondering whether it would be beer or whiskey on rock. The slim eyed man pondered before settling for something surprising, a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, preferably something more than 4 years old. Shikamaru pronounced Cabernet Sauvignon like a westerner, which had cost the waiter to ask the man to repeat multiple times, before he had to pronounce it the way Japanese understands. Not that Neji would know how it should sound like, having never left Japan in his life. As the waiter walked away, Shikamaru eyed his companion. He mentally thought 'sake uh? That meant he's traditional and prideful. That explains the reaction from before.' Neji looked back towards the other man and smiled gently. He started the conversation with "you are a detective, am I right?" The other man reacted by crossing his arms and leaned back into the couch whist facing the host "you know the answer, why ask." The white eyed man looked surprised whist the slim eyed man yawned.

Before the conversation grew further, the waiter came back with a bottle of sake and a bottle of 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon. The waiter claimed that the club didn't have any wine older than 2 years. Shikamaru shrugged as he took the wine glass off the waiter. He swirled the ruby liquid around in the glass before placing his nose into the glass to smell the red wine. Taking a sip, he slurped at the wine without dripping a single drop of the drink. He nodded at the waiter, indicating he was satisfied with the bottle.

Neji looked at the action with surprise as the stunted waiter shuffled away. Not a lot of people in Japan orders wine, let alone knowing the procedure to wine tasting. Taking the surprise in view, Shikamaru smirked "I actually can't taste the difference." Neji shook out of his revere and looked at his customer with interest. "I can only tell the difference between white and red wine. I can't taste the difference between the different types of red wine" explained the detective, whist sipping the wine. He raised the glass against the light to observe the ruby liquid. He continued the conversation in his unique lazed manner "I just enjoy people's expressions when I put on the show." He eyed his partner through the corner of his slim, fox like eyes. It was this moment that Neji realised that Nara Shikamaru, was not what he seemed.

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A/N: I wrote this with the fact that Neji had worked as a host for a long time. Also, throughout his host career, he had to dull his mind in order to accept the fact that he was working in this profession. The drug taking is a route of escape. I don't condone it, but then again, I'm not in his shoes.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi sensei I just help widen the fan base.

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**Chapter 3**

"Valium or coke?" the slouching man asked whist pretending to be distracted by the ruby wine. The long haired host nearly spluttered his sake when he heard the question. He stared at the person that he was supposed to host, astonishment displayed over his flawless features. The other man sat up and leaned forwards just so that he could communicate over the din of the club. "What did you take before? Valium or coke?" he asked. The host reorganised his thoughts and emotion before putting back on the façade of the ice beauty, "are you interrogating me, Officer Nara?"

The detective, with his left hand cupping the bottom of the glass, and right arm draped over his abdomen huffed with amusement. With a flash of movement, the laid-back man closed in onto the host, gently tipping the pale skinned man's face upwards with his right hand. Forehand and thumb, placed on the chin of the man, gently directed the ice beauty's face for a careful inspection. The host, with his experience, had just managed to calm himself and not react badly to the sudden infringement of proximity. Just as quickly as his aforementioned action, the inspector released the delicate face and leaned back. He tipped his wine glass with his left hand and took a sip, not before murmuring into the wine glass "coke."

Neji smiled gracefully, seemingly forgiven the sudden intrusion and leaned forwards with a set of well practiced movement. He crossed his long legs and placed his elbows on his knee. He then gracefully overlay his delicate wrist and tipped his body forwards, leading his upper body to breach the detective's comfort zone. His artfully arraigned hair draped forwards due to the momentum to cover the upper arm and shoulder of the other man. Sensing the building tension of the target, he smirked "are you here to arrest me, officer?" He toned his voice to be deeper, sultrier then before. The detective tried to suppress a light shiver, but it did not escape those pale, observant eyes. The host used his arm as support and shifted his body closer to the target. The close proximity led to another observation, which were the small hooped earrings supported by the other man's ear. Neji thought to himself 'uh, interesting. I wonder if they are sensitive.'

The long hair, draped across the arm of the unsuspecting man was dragged upwards, causing goose bumps in the wake of the movement. The host whispered into the delicate ear "I sure hope you don't, because I'm usually the one who puts handcuffs on people." Resisting the urge to lick the shell of the ear, he slowly moved back, not forgetting to allow his hair to cause more goose bump on the frozen man's arms. Through the host's experience, law enforcement officials or people working with power, tended to prefer letting loose and allowing someone else to lead, occasionally. Not saying that they were all masochistic, but just the fact that they needed someone else to take care of them. His profile was right as he observe the formally confident detective was stunted and staring into space.

Suddenly, without warning, the detective placed his wine glass down on the tea table with such force that it broke into pieces. Shocked by the action, the host sat up straight and gaped. The other man placed his hand down on top of broken glasses and pressed onto it in order to get up from the couch. Neji looked at the detective's face and seemingly hear him mumbling "of course, of course, how could I miss it?" He quickly stood up and looked at his host "of course!" For the first time that night, his voice was raised and his body radiated with excitement. He leaned forwards and cupped the shocked man's face with his hands. He placed a light peck on the shocked lips whist murmuring "thank you, thank you." Straightening up, he looked around with confusion "uh, I haven't paid." He quickly dug out his wallet and placed a 5000 yen note on the table.

Three of the detective's friends, who had observe his sudden movement slowly made their way to their spot. Inuzuka grabbed the detective's arm to bring him back to reality and asked "what's going on?" The detective simply glanced quickly to his friend, and work mate to answer the question "I've figured it out. I've got to get back to the squad." The genius then proceeded to shake off Inuzuka's hand and stride towards the door of the club. The rest of the trio were stunted by the sudden departure for a short while before the man with the tinted glasses claimed "I better get going, seems like I've got work to do." He ambled through the crowd to follow the departed detective. Inuzuka returned to the table containing the rest of the group in order to explain what happened. Tenten bowed to the host apologetically, "I apologise on behave of my co-worker. He isn't always very attentive to other people." Neji stood up to return the bow, saying "I understand."

Tenten straightened and caught sight of the host's face and was slightly surprised by the sight. "Neji-san" she exclaimed, whist pointing to him "what happened to your face? Are you hurt?" she asked worriedly. The host had then realised that the right side of his face felt slightly cold. Raising a hand to wipe at the liquid, he saw red, under the dim light. "Uh, I'm sure I'm fine. Thank you for asking Tenten-san" he smiled gently, offering comfort for the distraught woman, "go back to your friends, I shall clean up and attend to you and your friends later." She gave a slight nod and walked back, not forgetting to double check whether the host was, indeed alright.

The increasingly agitated host forced himself to calmly watch Tenten settle down on the table. He quickly gestured to the wait staff to clean up the mess on the table and proceeded to the dressing room. As a host, who earned their living through their physical appearance, he was worried what his appearance might be. Entering the dressing room, he got to his table to observe his appearance. The lower right side of his face was lightly covered in red, and in the rough shape of a hand. Figuring that it was caused by the detective when he placed a kiss on his lips, he grabbed a wet wipe off his table and wipe at the offending substance from his face.

He sighed a sigh of relieve when after thorough wiping, his face was still as flawless as ever. Looking at the wipe, which was stained pink, he caught a slight coppery scent. Frowning, he raised the wipe closer to his nose whist his mind ran through the event. Confirming that the scent was blood, he figured that the detective must have cut his hand on the broken glass when he stood up. Throwing the wipe in the bin, he straightened his body and smoothed any wrinkles on his shirt. Ensuring that the red liquid did not stain his pristine white shirt around the collar, he moved towards the club for the second time that night. A thought flashed through his mind, 'I wonder if his hand is being treated' before prepping himself mentally as a host.

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A/N: I wrote this part with the fact that Shikamaru becomes a bit absent minded when he is on a case, in mind. Kind of like a more social-able Sherlock Holmes. Also, Neji is very caring and protective. **Keep up the reviews and favourite, I might just write more about their relationship in a sequel!**


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi sensei. If it does, I would include more female characters just so that fanfiction writers would have more to work with.

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**Chapter 4**

About a week later, ground breaking news was widely published throughout the local news telecast and newspapers. The media had termed it 'The Gay Serial Killer' was caught and charged. It said that there had been 3 victims over 4 months before he was finally apprehended. However, what had really caught Hyuuga Neji's attention in regards to the case was over a televised press conference at the steps of the prosecutor's office. The head of the squad, a detective of large build by the name of Sarutobi Asuma, was answering the press' questions. At that time, Neji was preparing dinner after a workout session at the gym. The interview was already half-way through when he turned on the television.

He was listening to the interview and found the questions asked by the press to be dim witted and irrelevant. However, one of the reporters asked a sharp question "the serial killer had been at large for 4 months. What were the clues that finally lead to the killer?" That was when he raised his head to watch the news. He halted his dinner preparation when he caught sight of a familiar figure hiding in the shadows of the group performing the interview. The slouch, the pineapple shaped ponytail, air of nonchalance and sharp slim eyes. The familiar figure shifted forwards to whisper to the head of the investigation squad. The large man nodded with comprehension, he then turned back towards the journalist and answered the question.

"At first, we thought that the killer was targeting male homosexual member of the society. Profiling indicated that the perpetrator has a higher chance being a closeted homosexual, rather than a straight-out hate crime." The squad leader paused for breath. The flashing lights of cameras caused the genius to step back into his large superior's shadow. The goateed leader continued "through thorough investigative and forensic work, the clues lead to several dead ends. That was until another point of view was suggested." Pausing for effect, "that was to consider this, as a crime of passion." The sharp reporter who asked the question jumped in "does that mean that the killer knew the victims?" The squad leader nodded, "apparently the three victims dated the perpetrator for a short while. The reason why this connection was not made until now was that two out of three victims had just recently moved into this city. Their circle of friends were newly established, thus none knew exactly whom they were dating." By this point of the interview, Neji had moved to sit in front of his television set, riveted by the interview.

The same reporter was quick to pick up some clues in the squad leader's answer, "who was the one who suggested that it was a crime of passion?" The detective hiding in the shadow shrunk further behind his boss whist the larger man answered without pausing, seemingly prepared for such a question. "It doesn't matter who thought of this. What matters is that the perpetrator was caught and justice is served. Thank you." The squad leader moved off the podium with a wave, signalling an end to the interview. The scene changed to the inside of the studio. The anchorman inside the studio quickly shifted the topic of the news cast to a new political policy. Neji lied back onto the couch's back and pondered the newly gathered information. The broadcaster's voice slowly dulled to white noise whist his brain whirled with activity.

First of all, young Nara Shikamaru was talented enough to work alongside Sarutobi Asuma on a high profiled homicide case. Not only that, judging by the date, it was pretty soon after the incident in the club that the perpetrator was caught. It could be that same night when the young detective had thought of something that had lead to the solving of the crime. Therefore, not only Nara Shikamaru worked with Sarutobi Asuma, he was also the one who provided a new insight to the stagnant investigation. That meant that Nara Shikamaru was much, much more, than what he seemed. Sarutobi was right to withhold this information from the press. Who knew what kind of trouble might land on the young man's doorstep if the press found out that such a young member of the law enforcement agency were the one who solved the crime. At this thought, he started pondering, when did he start to become protective of the younger man.

The mobile tone shook Neji out of his thought process. He stretched across the table to reach his mobile phone. The caller ID indicated Tsunade. Neji's well trimmed eyebrows furrowed as he wasn't meant to start work until couple of hours. "Tsunade-sama, how may I help you?" Neji answered politely. "Neji-kun, I know that you weren't to start work in a couple of hours but someone had specially requested to see you briefly before you start work" Tsunade tended to get straight into business when it came to matters like this. That was one of the reasons why Neji treated the older woman with high respect. "Of course Tsunade-sama, when would you like me to come in?" Neji asked, whist pondering who was it that was so eager to see him that had Tsunade calling him personally.

"How about 7-ish, I know that you don't usually come in before half-past seven, the customer only wanted to meet you briefly." Tsunade answered, whist faint rustling of paper could be heard through the phone. Quickly glancing to the clock on the wall, which was indicating quarter past 5. It usually took more than half an hour to travel to the club during the after work traffic jam. He quickly pondered the amount of time needed to eat and shower. Nodding to the phone, Neji answered "I shall arrive at 7pm Tsunade-sama." The older woman shifted her phone and said "thank you Neji-kun. I shall see you later" and hung up. Being used to Tsunade's direct manner, he put down his phone and started work on his dinner. In his mind, he started pondering whether it could be the genius detective that wanted to see him.

Arriving at the club 3 minutes pass seven, several wait staff and bartenders was slightly shocked to see him arrive early. However, they did not forget to greet the second top host with a bow of respect. Entering the empty dressing room, he immediately spotted his visitor. He strutted through the echoing room, eliciting attention from the seated detective. The man was wearing a simple but badly fitted suit which indicated that he just got off work. Standing up, Neji graced the detective with a light smile.

Shikamaru was once again riveted by the beautiful man. This time, the pale skinned beauty was wearing a maroon coloured shirt coupled with dark grey pants. The top two buttons was once again unbuttoned, the cream white skin contrasted against the dark coloured material attracting his undivided attention. Perhaps it was the lighting, or the colour of the shirt, the skin looked pinker, rather than porcelain pale in comparison to the last time he saw the gorgeous beauty. "Eh-em" the host lightly cleared his throat to gain the staring man's attention. The slim eyed man looked up into the pair of pale eyes, glinting with amusement. Under the bright light of the dressing room, the host's iris were of lilac colour, rather than the previously thought milky pale.

The detective had to shake his head to stop himself from staring at the taller male. He lowered his head to scratch the back of his head, which lead to the pineapple shaped ponytail to wiggle in front of the bemused host. He looked up to the host whist avoiding looking into the lilac eyes."Erm, sorry about last time, I kind of left in hurry and probably scared you by smashing the glass. I was in a hurry" explained the fidgeting detective. The graceful host smiled kindly and answered "that was fine. You left some money behind, it were enough to compensate." Catching the honey-browned eyes, which had a golden glint under the yellow light of the dressing room, he grinned sultrily "besides, I had a great time."

Shikamaru gasped lightly with surprise at the confession and the soul catching lilac eyes. Clearing his throat as the detective broke off the eye contact and was somehow interested in a make-up brush on the dressing table. The host was observing the man in front of him with amusement. The calm collective and self-confident man had warped into a fidgeting and blushing man. Eyeing the badly tailored suit draped on, what Neji was sure based on the previous time he saw him, a slim and fit figure. Neji had the sudden urge to bring the man suit shopping. That was before his sight landed on the startling sight of bandages. He picked up the left hand of the detective, eliciting a startled jump. The detective tried to draw his hand back but the former man's tight hold stopped him. "How is your hand?" he asked gently. The detective drew his hand back successfully this time. His lips thinned before he answered the kindly question tersely "fine."

He started walking away after shuffling with indecision. Neji was pondering the reaction. That simple interaction gave the observant host a view as to the personality of the genius. He was awkward around people who exhibit care towards him. Someone or something in the detective's past had lead to this persona. Stopping at the exit of the dressing room, the detective seemed to reconsider his action. He reached into his breast pocket and took out his wallet. Picking out a card, the detective said apologetically "here's my card. Call me if you need anything." Placing the card on the table nearest to him, he opened the door and walked out. As the door shut with a soft whoosh, Neji walked towards the card and picked it up. It was a standard name card with standard printing on standard card. It was printed with the name_ Nara Shikamaru, Detective,_ and a land-line number. Flipping to the other side, there was no hand written private number. He could not help but let loose a disappointed sigh.

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A/N: Keep up the **review**, I might just write out what was the history behind our favourite genius in a **sequel**! Also, in there was a silent nod to one of my favourite animated doctor. Let me help with remembering whom I am mentioning. Standing on a rising podium "we are going to steal. Pause for effect, THE MOON!" Little yellow people cheers…


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi sensei. If it were, I would create a shinobi version of IAB and Shikamaru would lead it!

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**Chapter 5**

The crime scene was a mess. Upturned furniture, large gashes on the couch and bed, bookcases knocked over with scattered bits and bobs. Nara Shikamaru shook his head at the scene, murmuring "troublesome." His senior partner was directing the crime scene unit. The young detective trudged through the small one person apartment, taking care not to step on any useful clues. He squatted at a spot and tried to pick up a photo with his gloved hand, taking care not to disturb the broken glass too much. He observed the people in the photo. One was a bosomed blond holding a large sake bottle, whist draping her arm over the occupant of the disrupted apartment. On the other side of the occupant was a large man with a long mane of grey hair. His arms were crossed over his chest, bending sideways with his lower half outside of the photo and supporting a large grin. Seeming he had just decided to participate in the picture taking at last minute.

The centre of the picture focused on the person of interest in this case. His lilac eyes shone with glee whist his graceful facial features supported a light smile. His arms were also crossed over his chest. He was wearing a dark blue v-necked sweater, show casing snow white skin and delicate collar bones. His hair was carefully gathered behind his back, but a couple of strands had escape confinement and draped across his face. The atmosphere presented by the picture was one of familiarity and happiness. The young detective, who was familiar with the occupant of the crime scene, knew who the other people in the picture were. The blond was Tsunade, the employer of the person of interest. The other was co-owner of the host club, and was responsible for the selection of employees. There had also been a rumour that he was the author of a rather famous series of lurid books.

The detective placed the photo, facing upwards back on top of the broken frame. He stood up and decided to investigate the outside of the apartment. His partner was now outside too, smoking whist interviewing the neighbour of the ransacked apartment. He stood in the middle of the walkway, taking in with his eyes the width of the said walkway. He took in the appearance of the outside of the apartment. Just like any normal Japanese apartment, it had a door, with a large window next to it. He frowned at the glass, walking closer and bending to better observe the smudge on the glass. He then poked his head into the apartment and called out "Aburame". The crime scene investigator ambled closer and asked "what is it?" The detective pointed at the smudge on the glass "please get that swabbed and sent it for analysis." Aburame nodded whist he started gathering equipments to gather the evidence.

The senior detective faced his younger partner and leaned back on the railing. He huffed out his last breath and crushed the cigarette with his shoes. Luckily he did this outside of the crime scene tape, otherwise the usually pliant crime scene investigators may decide to kill him for disrupting the crime scene. If they do, no may be able to find a single clue as to who did it. It was a scary thought. "So, what do you think?" asked his partner, calling his young partner away from his line of thought. "Self defense" replied the genius after slight pondering. His boss and mentor smiled at the response. "Defiantly living up to the name of lazybones, doesn't even bother speak more than necessary" commented the larger man. The young man shrugged "it's pretty obvious, the victim was known for being a peeping tom and had a previous record of breaking and entering." His boss nodded for the young man to continue, the young detective leaned forwards on the railings of the walkway, looking at the stormy clouds. "He was also noted by the host club to be obsessed with the P.O.I. Coupled with the disrupted fuse and cut off phone line; this was definitely a breaking and entering, with a possibility of assault." Not forgetting his recent finding, he pointed to the window "also, if that smudge is tested, I'm pretty sure that the victim's DNA could be found."

Sarutobi Asuma nodded and added some of his findings "the neighbours had also noted the victim's regular appearance around the apartment. The building supervisor also noted that apartment 510 had reported tampering of his lock more than once." The two detectives fell silent, each filtering through the information, forming a case. The older detective added to finalise their brief conversation "I guess all that is left is the autopsy report." The younger detective nodded. As the two gathered themselves to move to the next destination, the younger paused. "Asuma," his name caused the older male to turn around to face his partner, eyebrow raised in question. "I want to interview Hyuuga and see whether he's alright" the younger man requested. The older man was slightly surprise at the request and nodded with approval, thinking to himself that it's about time to let the younger man venture on his own. "I'll be at the ME's office if you don't see me back at the squad" Asuma said, silently communicated that if newbie needed support, he will be there.

.~.~.~。.

Hyuuga Neji frowned slightly as the nurse fussed over him. He only had a sprained ankle and slight concussion. He didn't understand why he had to stay overnight for observation. He shared the room with 3 other patients with real broken bones. They should get more attention than him. Saying for the up tenth time that he was not in pain and he was fine, the nurse finally left him. Just as the nurse walked out of the curtained area, a badly suited detective walked in. The man was carrying a medium sized bag that Neji recognised as his own. Surprised at the visit, the patient sat up straighter on the bed, before remembering the control for the bed. After settling into the newly adjusted height, he lightly brushed his hand through his hair and gestured for the visiting detective to sit.

The detective dragged a chair from a wall and sat near the bed, facing the patient. He leaned forwards to offer the bag to the bed ridden man and explained "I gathered some stuff from your place. Toiletries, change of clothes and some underwear. Hope you don't mind." Neji smiled and gracefully accepted the bag with both hands and said "yes, that is fine. Thanks for being so considerate." The detective leaned back to scratch the back of his head, blushing slightly at the compliment. The slim eyes glinted and the visitor asked "how are your injuries?" having just remembered the polite thing to do as a visitor of a patient in a hospital. The patient smiled at the concern and said "doctor said I have a slight concussion and sprained ankle. I suppose I am doing fine."

Shikamaru found himself to be staring again. When the gorgeous man smiled, it was a beautiful sight. The sweeping hair was untied, flowing around the graceful face, framing it in an artistic fashion. The pale coloured hospital gown made the patient seemed more fragile. However, this was also the very man who had left a deranged stalker dead, in his own apartment. Asides from a few bruises and shallow cuts, the patient outwardly seemed fine, who knows how the man felt internally for killing a man. Catching himself, he shook his head to stop himself from staring. "How is the investigation going?" asked the person that he was suppose to interview, not marvel at his beauty. "It's going" answered the detective; he then explained "I can't tell you too much, as you're a person of interest in an ongoing investigation." The patient nodded "I understand."

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A/N: Another nod to one of my favourite TV series where a certain gothic forensic scientist claimed that she could kill someone without leaving a single clue behind. Go scientist!


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi sensei. And it has no possibility being mine.

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**Chapter 6**

"Yo, Shikamaru" greeted the senior detective as he approached their conjoined desk. The younger detective brushed a wave over his shoulder without looking up, seemingly engrossed in some paperwork. Sarutobi Asuma sat down in his chair and propped up his feet on the desk. Biting into a pear, he mumbled over the fruit "how did the interview go?" At the question, Nara Shikamaru paused his scribbling briefly before continue on the paper work. "It went alright," drawled the lazy detective "I'm just rewriting the notes for the prosecutor." He looked up at his senior partner and asked "how did it go with the M.E.?"

The senior detective's eyes twinkled at the memory as he quickly munched through the apple. Shikamaru rolled his eyes, knowing that his partner used his absence to woo the red-eyed medical examiner into a quickie. The senior detective settled back into his chair after placing a folder in front of his partner with a smack. Picking up the folder, the genius quickly glanced through the information.

_Male, 36, identification and fingerprint both identified the man as Kidoumaru. The subject was measured to be182 centimetres tall and weighed 75 kilograms. Time of death was approximately 3-5am, corresponding with the time of report. The subject's forearms and hands showed minor pre-mortem bruising and cuts. Bruising under ribcage and lower back, thorough investigation showed cracked ribs and bruised kidney. Both would result in severe pain. Possibility that the assailant was well versed in some form of martial arts was suggested to lead investigator. Subject's cause of death was due to blunt force trauma to the head. Subject also had severe liver cirrhosis. Haematology showed that the subject was more susceptible to haemorrhage as subject has impaired clotting function. Toxicology showed high levels of opioid, ammonia and urea. Possible hepatic encephalopathy suggested to the lead investigator._

The younger detective had already read up the criminal records of the said victim of this case. To sum it up, Kidoumaru worked part-time in local Seven-Eleven, full-time as a good-for-nothing ruffian. The victim had multiple arrests for breaking and entering along with assault. Complaints had been made regarding his stalking tendency and one restraining order issued from one of his ex. "Hepatic encephalopathy?" asked the genius. Even though he maybe a genius doesn't mean he knows about everything under the sun. His elder partner scowled with concentration, trying to remembering what the M.E. told him. "Kurenai explained that the victim's liver problem lead to building of chemicals in the blood that affects brain function," said the older man, waving his hand around to finish up "or something like that." Sitting up, he looked into the eyes of his younger partner and added "some of the symptoms of the disease are confusion and irritability." Shikamaru's slim eyes glint with interest at the information. This suggested that there was a high possibility that the victim in this case, was originally, the perpetrator.

"Boo!" the sudden exclamation startled both detectives that nearly sent the younger one onto the floor. The prankster grinned with glee as she watched the two detectives trying to settle their heart rate. "Shit Ino, you nearly gave me a heart attack" complained the younger man as he tried to get back into his seat. The other was eyeing appreciatively at the blond assistant prosecutor. Dressed in a dark navy dress suit, the off-white shirt was buttoned low to show off her ample cleavage. The skirt was tight with a slit up the side at the right height that showed off her leg without making her look like a slut. She just looked like a professional woman with a great figure to show.

As she sat on the edge of her old uni-mate's desk and asked "so, what are you boys up to?" The senior detective couldn't help but banter with the younger, sexually mature lawyer. He stood up to lean next to the woman and suggestively said "we were just talking about you, beautiful." The pony-tailed blond giggled, hunching over, which gave the taller man a great view of her cleavage. The other detective yawned and leaned back in his chair, watching his shameless senior partner to fail. "Why you tease" purred the lawyer, pawing her delicate hand on the older detective's buff arm. She stood up to lean close to the amused detective and adjusted the collar of the older man "next time if you want to flit just after a shag, make sure that the kicky's covered up and you don't smell of sex." The older man's eyes widen with surprise as she slowly drag her palm across his firm chest, tipping herself forward to whisper in the astounded man's ears "besides, your old enough to be my uncle. O-ji-san."

Shikamaru smirked at the interaction. His slim eyes tracked his uni-mate's movement as she leaned over his chair and started massaging his shoulders. He grinned and looked up at his friend upside down. Looking at their interaction, Sarutobi was relieved that the usually closed off and indifferent young man had someone that he can relax with. Ino smiled down at her friend and asked "how is the Hyuuga case going?" Ino was aware that Shikamaru knew the host, but the thing she wasn't sure of was whether Sarutobi knew. Ino also knew that her unassuming friend has a strong moral persona, and remains loyal to those people whom he deemed trustworthy, even though he may not know that person well. She knew by heart that Shikamaru would do everything he could to prove Hyuuga Neji's innocence, provided if he wasn't guilty in the first place.

"We think that this is a case of self defense" said the senior detective after finding himself knocked to the side. The younger man nodded with approval whist the other man sat down. "Kidoumaru was known for his obsessive and violent behaviour" Sarutobi said whist trying to gather the necessary paperwork. "There were signs of tampering with the lock and phone line in Hyuuga's place," Shikamaru continued for his superior, sitting up he rested his head on his forearms, resting on the desk. "Witnesses saw Kidoumaru lingering around the apartment," continued Sarutobi, as Shikamaru had seemingly dozed off. "There were signs of violent altercation at the apartment and self-defence markings on the victim" Sarutobi said. Standing up, he passed the notes they gathered and the autopsy report to the assistant persecutor. He then added "Dr. Yuuhi also said that the victim had a bad liver, which may cause altered mental state and easy to bleeding to death."

Yamanaka Ino slipped into her lawyer mode and nodded at the information. As she was going through the autopsy report, Tenten approached the table and handed the younger man couple of sheets of paper. "Hospital came back with Hyuuga's examination" she explained as the recipient woke up to accept the papers. He quickly glanced through the paper and handed the paper to his partner. Catching the inquisitive look from Ino, he explained whist lying back on the comfort of his arms "the forensic nurse confirmed Hyuuga Neji's testimony, his wounds were largely self-defence." As he settled on the table, hoping for a quick nap, the hospital report was passed to the lawyer. Within a few moments, Ino exclaimed "yoshi!" startling the other two detectives, whist the one lying on the desk just sighed.

"I shall report back to my boss" she said energetically, smiling at the other three "hopefully Hyuuga-san won't get charged with the offence." She strutted off in her thousand buck high heels whist Tenten shook her head at the woman, wondering how could any person live on heels. She wondered off whist Sarutobi stared at the back of his partner's pineapple head. "Oi, oi, lazybones. We've still got work to do" ordered the superior. The younger just replied "troublesome" and shifted his head to the other side.

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A/N: Here's another nod to one of my favourite detective. Charlie Crews loves his fruits.


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi sensei. If it were mine, I would make Neji and Hinata's relationship better.

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**Chapter 7**

"I'm sorry, but you can't go in" insisted the uniformed officer at the door. "She's my cousin," the long haired man explained as he tried to step through the gap between the two officers. "I'm sorry, she's being interviewed by the detectives, you just have to wait" the other officer told the person who had been trying to enter the single hospital room for the past couple of minutes. The pale-skin man stood back and flipped his long hair back over his shoulder. Huffing with disappointment, he tried to think other ways to see his cousin. "I have to see her" he demanded, exasperation and helplessness crept up his spine, costing his cool.

As the officers tried to explain again, the door opened showing a large goatee man chewing on a toothpick. "What's going on here?" questioned the detective, murmuring through the toothpick, instead of his customary cigarette. The officers turned to their superior and one of them answered "this gentleman had been trying to get to Miss Hyuuga for quite some time, sir." The other added "we tried to explain that Sarutobi-san is interviewing the patient." Before the large man could answer, a faint feminine voice called out "please let him in, he is my cousin." The detective raised his eyebrow with interest before shifting his intimidating figure aside, allowing the agitated man to enter the room.

In the middle of the room was the hospital bed, on top of the bed sat a fragile looking female. Equally lilac eyes, brown hair cut to shoulder length, pale skin made paler under the sickly florescent lighting and hospital gown. "Hinata-sama, are you alright?" Neji asked, approaching the bed with reverence. The younger female nodded shyly, whist supporting a grim smile, sullen eyes made Neji's heart flutter with empathy. "Neji-nii-san, thank you for your concern, I am fine now" answered in her usual quiet and gentle manner. Glancing over her body, she was supporting a sling on her left arm, bandages and band-aids covered the rest of her body. Bruising on the left side of her face made her look as pale as the white hospital sheet under her. Gripping his hands in a tight fist, he wanted to avenge anyone who hurt his gentle hearted cousin.

"Eh-em" clearing of throat made Neji became aware of other presence in the room. He turned towards the noise-maker and bowed apologetically to the large detective. "I apologise for the intrusion, I was worried for my cousin" he explained as he straightened. The older man twisted the toothpick and accepted the apology "that's alright young man; I can understand your worries." The large detective's eyes glanced at the fourth figure in the room that had remained silent throughout the interaction. Catching the subtle action, Neji turned around and spotted the younger detective. Still dressed in his ill fitting suit, the man was leaning next to the window. His slim fox like eyes glint with interest before closing them again with a sigh. The older detective chuckle with embarrassment "my partner, which I'm sure you've met before." Neji nodded as he eyed the other detective's nonchalant demeanour.

"Neji-san, am I correct?" the senior detective asked, gaining the long haired brunet's attention. Neji turned fully to face the detective and greeted formally "Hyuuga Neji, I am under your advice." Surprised at the sudden formality, the senior detective quickly returned the bow. This resulted in a slight chuckle from the younger detective, laughing at his superior's awkward movements. Scowling at his younger partner for his insubordination, he quickly disregarded the interaction. He turned to ask the intruder "Neji-san, if it is possible, I would like to ask you some questions. At the same time, my partner will continue the interview with your cousin." Neji nodded his approval "of course tantei-san." He turned to his cousin, giving her a last cursory safety check before following the larger detective to walk out of the room. She nodded her regards to her elder cousin. Eyeing the lazy man leaning on the wall, he saw for a brief flash of determination before the face returned to his usual slack feature. Somehow, Neji knew that his cousin was in good hands.

.~.~.~.

Five days later, the two men met again. This time, it was the host who instigated the contact. "You know, a detective is not allowed to interact with any person involved in an ongoing case privately" stated the man dragging out the chair opposite the person who invited him. The pale skinned man smiled faintly as his lilac eyes tracked the younger man's movement. He was wearing a simple black t-shirt with the letters 'NIN' outlined in green. The waiter greeted the newly seated customer; the pineapple haired man ordered a pot of earl-grey. Neji lowered his cup of green tea which he had been cupping in his hands ever since the other man's entrance. He said"if I don't tell anyone, and you don't tell anyone, no one would know." Lilac eyes glint in bemusement as he observed the other man gazed at him lazily.

Sighing with helplessness, he leaned back into the chair and draped his arms on the arms of the chair. Honey brown eyes closed with exhaustion, exposing the shadows and bags under the eyes. Neji deduced, once again that the detective was suffering through sleepless nights. "Your cousin had just survived an assassination attempt" said the man with closed eyes. The slim eyes opened a slit to observe the pale skinned man. The person under observation gripped the cup tighter and sat up straighter, patiently waited for the lazy man to continue. Shikamaru just leaned back further, closing his eyes, tipping back his head to enjoy the warmth of the sun on his face.

The waiter chose this time to set down the tray of tea ordered by the sun bathing detective. Shikamaru sat up with a large sigh and thanked the waiter. He prepared his drink as he continued "you are technically a suspect as you had a previous record for assassination attempt." The lilac eyes widen at the amount of sugar in the tea. After hearing a chuckle, he looked up at the man pouring the tea into the tea cup. The smiling man explained "I got this habit from Choji, a childhood friend of mine." The man took a sip at the sweetened tea and continued "the more sugar I take, the more filling I feel, thus I won't need to eat soon." He placed the cup back on top of the saucer and leaned on his left hand, right hand tapping the top of the table, murmuring "too lazy to get food to eat."

Smiling at the honesty, Neji took a sip from his cooling tea. Getting back to topic, Neji asked "what are you going to do next?" Pausing his tapping at the question, the slim eyed man glance up at the face he couldn't forget since he first met him. This time, the pale skinned beauty was wearing a red flannel shirt over a dark brown t-shirt. The casual clothing on the man made him look like a model that had just walked out of a fashion magazine. Particularly the fact that his hair was tied into a pony-tail at the base of his skull enhanced his face and powerful bone structure. The delicate facial features were supported by a strong jawbone, leading to a pale elongated neck.

Shikamaru had to tear his eyes away from the man again before the clogs in his head could turn. He twiddled with the teaspoon as he organised his brain to work. The other man waited patiently as he observed the younger man seated in front of him. The t-shirt revealed well toned arms. The lightly tanned skin was darker around the hands and wrist, indicating constantly working under the sun with long sleeves. The shirt was, once again ill fitting, obscuring what Neji deemed a fit body.

"Do you trust me?" the person spoke, catching Neji's wavering thought. The pale skinned man sat up straighter and asked "what?" The detective asked again "do you trust me?" The host just frowned at the question. The detective sighed. He tried to explain "I need you to do something for me. So do you trust me?" His brown eyes looked into the lilac eyes with earnestly. The host broke eye contact in order to think. The detective did not give up as he tried to persuade the older man. He started with his deductions "I understand that you are anxious to catch whoever it is that hurt your cousin." Observing the victim's cousin clenching of jaw, the detective continued "but, without knowing more as to who initiated this, jumping into this situation doesn't help."

Nodding an understanding nod, the detective was encouraged to rumble out his deduction. "From the interview I got from the victim and you, along with others who knew her. She is a pretty timid but kind hearted person" seeing the nod from Neji. Shikamaru pondered "perhaps too kind hearted." Neji seemed deep in thought as Shikamaru decided to continue "Hyuuga Hinata had just take over the Hyuuga enterprise after Hyuuga Hiashi's death." The detective went on, ignoring the other person's flinch upon the mention of that name "since then, the victim had been receiving death threats, saying that if she doesn't step down, she will be hurt." Surprise was evident on Neji's face as Shikamaru took a sip of tea.

"Death threats, by whom?" asked the shocked male. Shikamaru just shrugged "if I had known, would I be here?" The lazy detective sighed, seemingly tired from all the talking. "Some of the people around the victim thinks is you" looking up into the lilac eyes, "seeing as you are to be the successor if anything were to happen to the current head of the Hyuuga Enterprise." Neji frowned at the information; it seemed like a lot of the Hyuuga family members were not aware of the fact that he had been kicked out of the Hyuuga family.

"After checking the records and legal will, we are aware of the fact of you succeeding the enterprise is not quite possible, as your family had been disowned" said the detective. Neji nodded at that information, confirming for the detective that the information was correct. Before continuing, the detective asked again "do you trust me?" The other man gently bit his lower lip in thought. Throughout his harsh life, he had only trusted himself. Putting his trust on others usually meant putting his life in the hands of the other. He looked up at the man offering to break that mould.

Taking a deep breath, the hardened man decided to take a giant leap "what do you need me to do?" Smiling at the response, the detective gave a relieved sigh. "We had decided that you were innocent; therefore it must be someone else who instigated the assassination attempt" said the detective with certainty. Looking up with a meaningful glint in the slim foxy eyes, the genius smirked "and that's where you come in."

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A/N: I've been having trouble trying to express conversations without making it seem monotonous. He said this; he said that, they said this… blah, blah, blah… So if anyone has any ideas to help me out of this dump. I would greatly appreciate it. Don't forget to **review and read**, there will be **more on Neji's background in the sequel**! Oh, and did anyone notice the reference to a certain sweet loving detective?


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi sensei. If it were, I would change their clothing regularly.

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**Chapter 8**

"Neji-sama, Neji-sama. How did you come by this opportunity to own the Hyuuga Enterprise?" asked a dim witted reporter. The interviewee had to suppress his urge to roll his eyes for the up tenth time while gracing the reporter with a smile. "I, Hyuuga Neji, was appointed by my cousin to succeed her after her accident" replied the man who was well trained in the art of dealing with idiots. Flashes of light, clicks of cameras and another round of reporters fighting for a chance to get their question answered. "Neji-sama," asked a reporter at the front, "are you single?"

Ignoring the snort emitted by the pineapple hair detective standing to his side, Neji smiled and answered "yes, I am. Why, are you offering?" The joke elicited a laugh throughout the crowd. The reporter that Neji recognised from Sarutobi's interview on the serial killer case caught his eyes. He pointed to the woman, allowing her to ask her question, "Neji-sama, there had been bad blood between your family and Hyuuga Hinata's family. Why is it that you have agreed to succeed the enterprise from her?" Neji nodded slightly, approving of the appropriate question. He cleared his throat for the rehearsed answer "the bad blood was created between my father and her father. I am not Hyuuga Hizashi as she is not Hyuuga Hiashi. She is my cousin and it broke my heart to see her hurt." A wave of 'aww's passed through the crowed before Neji continued "therefore I am succeeding the company as this is her wish, and I wish to make her happy." He ended with a breath taking smile, allowing the sudden increase in light flashing to drown him in white light.

Without warning, Hyuuga Neji's body jerked backwards and crumpled at the bottom of the podium. The law enforcement personnel jumped into action seconds later. Police barricade the swarming reporters from getting too close. The detective who was standing to his side felt for the unconscious man's pulse. He shouted over the noise, asking for an ambulance. Pressing over the reddening wound site, he kept murmuring to the pale skinned man "stay with me. Come on Neji, stay with me."

.~.~.~.

The beeping of the monitor indicated a living person. However, the person laying unconscious on the white sheet seemed dead. Paler then any living person, the shallow chest movement was barely visible under the blanket. It made him seemed still as a corpse. The bandaged shoulder peaked from the blanket. The florescent light hummed over head. The man entering the quiet room looked at the sleeping beauty. The long hair was spread on the pillow, creating a halo around the pale face. He picked up a stray hair from the beautiful face and smoothed it aside. Looking up to the hanging drip, one contained colourless liquid whist the other was a packet of red liquid labelled with a large O.

He held up the bag with the colourless liquid and reached into his coat for a syringe. Uncapping the syringe's needle by biting on the cap, he inserted the needle to the insertion port at the bottom of the bag and injected the equally colourless liquid in. Smiling at his deed, the man recapped the needle and neared his face to his victim. He grinned a feral grin and whispered "sayonara, Hyuuga Neji-kun." Before he could leave the proximity of the laying body, he was locked in a jujitsu hold and the door of the room burst opened. Three people filed in as he struggled with the formerly unconscious patient.

"Cuff him" the voice ordered, he was then manhandled into a pair of cuffs and forced to turn around. His eyes landed on the sight of his intended victim standing with his arms crossed over his chest, a frown on his graceful features. The other was a pineapple haired detective, with his hands tucked in his suit. "In the words of Kindaichi, the mystery is solved" drawled the detective, eliciting a surprised look from the lilac eyed man. Catching that glance, he shrugged "what I like that manga." Shaking his head at the revelation, the person still wearing the hospital gown placed his hand at his forehead and sighed.

The man with an eye patch and a goatee growled "what is the meaning of this!" Shikamaru yawned before answering "this is as it seems, you are caught red handed during an assassination attempt on Hyuuga Neji." The prisoner was outraged "caught, by a kid!" The said kid frowned at the exclamation, "what kid? I'm 25." The taller male standing next to him looked at the detective for a short while and added "you do look young, like 19 or 20." Surprised at the admission, the detective's eyebrows raised and asked "really?" Seemingly on second thought, he frowned slightly and mumbled "should I take that as a compliment?" The bemused man in hospital gown smiled "please do."

"Don't you dare ignore me!" the prisoner shouted, which caused the two officers holding the man to tighten their hold. "I should do whatever I want" replied a cold calculated voice elicited by his intended victim. "Kumokagure-san, my uncle trusted you. That's why he allowed you to become the CEO of the Hyuuga Enterprise" said the supposedly dead man. The eye-patched man struggled with his captives before snarling "Hyuuga Hiashi was an idiot for trusting me. Hizashi was smarter than his brother. Oops, that would be your very dead father, killed by his own twin brother!" Triggering a response, Hyuuga Neji wanted to defend his family's honour, but his movement was halted by a hand on his arm. Looking at the owner of the hand, the detective shook his head whist staring at the perpetrator.

"Take him away" indicated the detective with his head to the two officers. Nodding at the order, they moved the struggling man away. The prisoner did not forget to shout "this isn't over!" The detective murmured "yes it is." Shuffling to the bed, Nara Shikamaru plopped face down on the hospital bed. Shocked at the action, the other man left in the vacated room asked "what are you doing?" The prone man mumbled through the sheets "sleep." Shaking his head at the childish action, the long haired man huffed. He turned around to get his clothing, the detective lying on the bed peaked his eyes at the figure bending to get his bag from behind the door. "Erm, Neji-san?" asked the detective hesitantly. The man straightened to untie his gown, he answered "yes?" without looking back. "Why aren't you wearing any underwear?" the naïve pineapple head asked. The talented host grinned.

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A/N: Can't help to put in one of my favourite anime detective. They are both lazy with a high IQ. Would you look at that… I had the man who killed Hyuuga Hizashi in the original work pay a part. I couldn't find his name as he was termed 'head ninja of the Kumokagure'. So I just used Kumokagure as a name. I hope that's fine?


	10. Epilogue

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi sensei. Wait, let me check again. Nope, not mine. Darn!

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**Epilogue**

The two men were seated at the veranda of a popular seafood restaurant. Overlooking the sea, the evening breeze brushed through the flowing hair of the host. He was wearing a midnight blue dress shirt with a dark silver tie. His lilac eyes twinkled in the darkening daylight at the pineapple haired detective, who was reading through the wine menu. Finally getting a chance to drag the man out for a suit shopping and educating session in preparation for tonight, he was admiring his handy work. The detective was wearing a turkish blue long sleeved shirt of the right fit, with a Prussian blue skinny tie. Under the evening light, the blue enhanced the honey brown eyes, making it golden. The owner of those eyes were chatting to the waiter who happened to know his wine better then the waiter who served him at the host club.

Settling for a safe bet, Sauvignon Blanc of the year 2008, Shikamaru settled back to look at the pinkish clouds over the sea. "What a view" he sighed, felling relaxed for the first time over a long time. "It sure is," answered a voice, waking the cloud watcher from his daydream. The owner of the voice was looking straight at him; the look was an intense gaze. Making him blush, the detective sighed at himself for agreeing to this 'date'. He didn't understand why he agreed to it in the first place. Perhaps it was the two female friends and a very enthusiastic dog owner. He has sworn himself off dating. Well, he thought he did.

The man sitting opposite him graced him with a smile, so gentle and meaningful that his heart nearly melted. Instead, his body melted and slid down the chair and pondered. His hands formed a circular shape by touching the tips of his fingers together. The waiter served the white wine with a basket of bread. Waving the waiter away, the host frowned at the silent man as he picked up the wine. After a slight taste, he realised that wine wasn't that bad, he preferred something stronger, but this would so.

"I understand you have some questions" Shikamaru stated as a fact not a question. The slim eyes were dark and calculating. Neji was chewing on the crust of the bread, he not quite understand why it was so hard. He coughed slightly as some of the dry bread went down the wrong pipe way. He picked up the wine glass before he was stopped by the detective, "drink water, wine would only make you choke more." Nodding his thanks, he picked up the glass of water and drank. The usually clam and well mannered host was slight ashamed at his stumble and smoothed his tie as a way to calm him down.

"Yes, indeed I do. I have a lot of questions, I hope you don't mind answering them" Neji asked politely, picking up the guard that the younger man had put up. The detective waved his hand, indicating for the host to ask. "First of all, how did you know I took cocaine the first time I met you?" asked the host. The detective answered "because of pupil dilation and enflamed skin around your nostrils." Nodding with the 'ah, now I understand' nod, the host went on to the next question "what made you change your opinion on the serial killer?" The detective pondered a bit before answering "because of what you were doing." Sitting up to better explain, the detective continued "you were seducing me. Thus lead me to the thought how easy it was to lure lonely young men who were seeking physical or sexual attention."

Resting his chin on his criss-crossed fingers, the detective explained "thus leading me to think that these men were lured with promise of comfort and sexual satisfaction. Crime of passion connected a lot of the missing links together." Ending his deduction, he took his glass and sipped at the wine. "Were you lonely?" asked the host, picking up at the clue. Frown graced the forehead of the detective; he immediately settled back on his chair and crossed his arms. "Could I skip that question?" asked the detective politely. The host mentally noted the boundary of the flirting between him and the detective.

"Okay, how was it that you knew that I did not kill Kidoumaru?" Neji asked. "I didn't" answered the detective, sipping the wine. "I got the answer after investigating the scene and compiling the evidence" he responded. This indicated that he didn't just believed that Neji were innocent straight off the bat. He thoroughly investigated the case despite their private relationship. "How did you know that someone would want to target me after Hinata?" finally getting to the main question of the night. Shikamaru took a sip of the wine before answering "when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Hearing the line, the familiarity caused the host to ask "isn't that?" Nodding with a slight smile "yes, Sherlock Holmes."

The food chose that time to arrive. Neji had gone for the pouched bass with potato, whist Shikamaru went for seafood pasta with white sauce. As they dig into the food, Shikamaru went on with his deduction. "From my interviews with Hinata and those who knew her, she is a very shy and kindly person. She does not make many friends, let alone enemies. I went from the angle of family feud and thought of you" ignoring the pointed stare from the man seated opposite him. "But through family records and the will of Hyuuga Hiashi, you would not gain anything for killing Hinata. So you were crossed off from my suspect list" pausing to swallow. Neji wanted to point out the usage of pronoun in that sentence. He was cut off as the detective explained "my partner did not eliminate you from his suspect list as soon as I did."

Continuing "I suggested using you as bait, which had of course, lead to a whole lot of trouble." The lazy detective waved off much of the conversation as he couldn't be bothered to go into the detail. He reasoned "I managed to convince them by saying that if you were guilty, you would be alive. If you were innocent, you will be dead." Nodding as the host understood the logic, the detective said "that's why I had the news spread out regarding you succeeding the Hyuuga Enterprise and had you wear the bulletproof vest." Seeing the strategy, Neji added "to lure out the person behind all this." The detective agreed "yes, I had to make sure that I caught the head of the snake in order to prevent any subsequent attacks."

Suddenly remembering something, the host asked "why was there a large banner above us that day, was it to attract attention?" The detective smiled and answered "nice observation. No, it was to ensure that the sniper wouldn't try to aim for your head." Surprised at the attention to detail, Neji's regard for this man had just raised again. "The possibility for the sniper to aim for your head is pretty low, due to the wind, but it was better to be safe than sorry" the detective added.

"I had Asuma pay attention to the building opposite and watch out for sniper rifle. As soon as he caught sight of it, he had that building surrounded and a SWAT team broke into that room" pausing at the recollection. He smiled, "when he was caught, Kumokagure was phoning him, wanting to ensure that you were shot." Looking up, he noted the host's equally bemused smile at the mistake. "Asuma had the assassin say that you were shot and everything was fine" he finished the story with a drink of his wine.

"So you intentionally leaked the news that I was still alive and lured Kumokagure to finish me off?" Neji finish up the rest of the story. Shikamaru nodded with agreement. The rest of the evening went on peacefully. They chatted about shoji and go, a surprising commonality between the two of them. They talked about Shikamaru's quick rise as a detective and found out that he was a genius with an IQ of 200. They discussed Neji's new position in the Hyuuga Enterprise after reconciling with his cousin. Neji was also pleasantly surprised that Shikamaru did not judge his former profession. Instead he seemed to respect him as the detective said "people working in your profession are experts in body language and profiling." Smiling at the compliment, the host leaned across the dessert and asked "would you like to know what I have profiled about you?" The detective smiled and shook his head with the dessert spoon in his mouth, whist his chin leaned on his left hand.

The host pressed on "why not?" The detective pondered before finally taking the dessert spoon out. The host could not see the expression on the detective's expression as he was looking down at his cheesecake, but the body language showed shame. "Save it for other better use, I guess" replied the detective. He sat back with his arms crossed, head turned to view the golden ocean, avoiding making eye contact with the host. Sipping his green tea, the host sat patiently, waiting for the other man to sort out his emotions. "Also, I guess I am afraid what you could see in me" the younger man said, with the tone of voice years above his actual age.

The duo quietly finished their dessert and paid for the check. Neji had insisted that they share, but Shikamaru said that Neji had paid for his shirt, so it was only fair for him to pay for dinner. Before they separate to get into their respective cars, they stood in the sunset glow to say goodbye. "Shikamaru-kun" addressed the host before the shorter figure turned to leave. Slim eyes glint in the waning sunlight, creating a golden glow. Lilac eyes earnestly stated "I have one last question." The other man, with his hands tucked into his newly bought pants, kicked a pebble away with a lowered nod. The host asked "can I see you again?" The fidgeting man pause his movement and pondered. Mind churning, pitting possibilities against each other, whist his heart yearned for the offered kindness. For what seemed an eternity to the patiently waiting man, the aged brown eyes looked into the lilac eyes. A heart warming smirk graced his youngish features and nodded. A bond of trust had finally been born.

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A/N: I had a hard time writing up the conversation. I hope it doesn't cause any confusion. Please tell me if it does. Well, this is it folks.** Please leave reviews if you would like to read the sequel**. Thanks for reading, if you're too lazy to review, **please leave a fav**. That will encourage me to continue. Ja-ne!


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